Well, it has been an eventful six months, not even considering a global pandemic:
- At the end of July, I lost my job as part of a corporate restructuring.
- I spent the second half of the summer and early fall searching for a job. We set a deadline of me finding a job by mid-September. I came really close, but there's no prize for coming in second.
We set the deadline based on the real estate market being still hot in September and October before slowing in November and December. We also wanted to beat the surge in Covid cases that everyone was predicting.
- Simultaneously, I was preparing the house for sale, so this meant a bit of cleaning and clearing out of junk. You can see the results of that cleaning and clearing out in the pictures of our Abbotsford house.
- We then sold the house, so the cleaning and clearing out switched to packing for our move back to Ontario.
- One day, I emerged from the basement following a job interview and my wife asked, "What's wrong with your eye?" I couldn't feel anything different so I went to a mirror. My left eye was wide open while my right eye had it's normal semi-lidded position. I basically looked a little like Bill the Cat from Bloom County
- So it was off to the family doctor, who immediately sent me to an ophthalmologist, who immediately sent me to the hospital for a CT scan.
- The CT scan showed that some muscles that control my eyes are inflamed and maybe there was a blood clot in the vein for those muscles. The swelling has moved my eyeball a little forward and that's why my eye seems to be more open.
- I got referred to an orbital specialist who ordered an MRI and then another CT scan but using a dye. The swelling has gone down some but not completely as you can see here:
- I did discover another side effect: I get double vision if I am looking at anything closer that about four feet. Since I work with computers, this is a distinct problem. I can see fine but only one eye at a time.
- At the end of November we moved. The movers were a disaster. They managed to dent our dining room table and mash the bed headboard. They took forever to load the truck because there were only two of them and only one knew what he was doing.
- We also discovered that despite having to wear a mask all the time, travelling by airplane in the Age of Covid was actually very pleasant and smooth provided that you ignore the fact that there is an infectious and deadly disease spreading. There was lots of room and the WestJet staff were so nice and attentive.
- After we landed, we had video with the orbit specialist. She gave me the rather alarming news that I possibly had a leak somewhere vein network or near the brain and that I was to take it easy and refrain from any exertion.
- The movers continued their disaster by taking a whole week longer than we were originally told. Then, only after we escalated to the CEO and lots pleading, they found a driver to deliver our goods to a storage locker. But the driver was alone. Thank goodness that my brother-in-law and his son had showed up to help us, because they packed our goods into storage. I was under strict orders to not lift anything.
- We moved in with a cousin of my wife, who has generously let us stay with him until we find a more permanent home. We're repaying him through nice meals and companionship, which I'm sure everyone appreciates during this time of lock-down.
- I got to see another eye specialist in Toronto, who let me know that there was no leak and no clot. Woo hoo! The one downside is that my eye has not changed. But at least I can get new glasses to fix the double vision.
- With the clean bill of health, I started to look for a job by reaching out to a recruiter who had contacted me. In a small world coincidence, he was looking to fill a contract that had been filled by my manager at my previous job.
- After so many rounds of interviews that stretched the hiring process out to weeks or even months, I got a contract in less than a week starting from when I reached out to the recruiter to signing the contract.
I'm hoping that 2021 continues in this way. Good times are coming, we just have to hold out until they arrive.
